MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 309 



" Oh, sure to be well (puff) \ never nothing the matter with him 

 (wheeze)," replied Jogglebury. 



" May as well see," rejoined Mr. Sponge, turning up a narrow 

 walk that seemed to lead to the back. 



Jog followed doggedly. He had a good deal of John Bull in him, 

 and did not fancy being taken possession of in that sort of way ; 

 and thought, moreover, that Mr. Sponge had not behaved very 

 well in the matter of the egg controversy. 



The stables certainly were nothing to boast of. They were in an 

 old rubble-stone, red-tiled building, without even the delicacy of a 

 ceiling. Nevertheless, there was plenty of room even after 

 Jogglebury had cut off one end for a cow-house. 



"Why, you might hunt the country with all this stabling," 

 observed Mr. Sponge, as he entered the low door. " One, two, 

 three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Nine stalls, I declare," 

 added he, after counting them. 



" My (puff) uncle used to (wheeze) a good deal of his own (puff) 

 land," replied Jogglebury. 



" Ah, well, I'll tell you what : these stables will be much better 

 for being occupied," observed Mr. Sponge. " And I'll tell you 

 what I'll do for you." 



" But they are occupied ! " gasped Jogglebury, convulsively. 



" Only half," replied Mr. Sponge ; " or a quarter, I may say- 

 not even that, indeed. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll have my 

 horses over here, and you shall find them in straw in return for the 

 manure, and just charge me for hay and corn at market price, you 

 know. That'll make it all square and fair, and no obligation, you 

 know. I hate obligations," added he, eyeing Jog's disconcerted face. 



" Oh, but (puff, wheeze, gasp)—" exclaimed Jogglebury, redden- 

 ing up — " I don't (puff) know that I can (gasp) that. I mean 

 (puff) that this (wheeze) stable is all the (gasp) 'commodation I 

 have ; and if we had (puff) company, or (gasp) anything of that 

 sort, I don't know where we should (wheeze) their horses," 

 continued he. " Besides, I don't (puff, wheeze) know about the 

 market price of (gasp) corn. My (wheeze) tenant, Tom Hayrick, 

 at the (puff) farm on the (wheeze) hill yonder, supplies me with the 

 (puff) quantity I (wheeze) want, and we just (puff, wheeze, gasp) 

 settle once a (puff) half-year, or so." 



"Ah, I see," replied Mr. Sponge ; "you mean to say you wouldn't 

 know how to strike the average so as to say what I ought to pay." 



"Just so," rejoined Mr. Jogglebury, jumping at the idea. 



" Ah, well," said Mr. Sponge, in a tone of indifference ; " it's no 

 great odds, — it's no great odds, — more the namecf the thing than 

 anything else ; one likes to be independent, you know, — one likes 

 to be independent ; but as I shan't be with you long, I'll just put 

 up with it for once, — I'll just put up with it for once, — and let you 



